Hip-hop

Art is not something trapped in gilded frames and glass cages, cordoned off behind velvet ropes and watched over by men in uniforms. It’s not the province of the past, created only by dead men from dead places. It’s a living thing that you give birth to every day, whether you call yourself an artist or not, and it’s time you started claiming that shit.

The world is a confusing and often dangerous place. Art is our reaction to it, our attempt to make sense of our subjective internal experience of that world and communicate it to others. It’s like a reflex: You experience something significant, something you feel like you have to communicate to other people, and boom, your heart and mind line up to produce something that you hope will convey some truth of that experience. It’s a deep-seated part of human nature. We all feel the need to express ourselves.

And everybody makes art. When your teacher hits you with a pop quiz and you draw a stick figure of him getting eaten by sharks in the margin? That’s art. You’re expressing your anger, frustration, fear, and who knows what else from your unique perspective. When you make up a vulgar parody of that stupid Top 40 pop hit stuck in your head? Art. When you make that angsty post on your LiveJournal? Art. When you upload that washed-out, high-contrast self-portrait to MySpace? Art.

Most of you I’m writing this for have been enculturated to believe that art is an elusive thing that only a handful of people who have devoted their lives to pursuing it will ever attain, or that art is defined by the opinions of elite critics, or that some art is “high” and some art is “low.” Bullshit. We all create art, and anyone who would tell you otherwise is a soulless shell trying to keep you mired in the tar pits of mediocrity and banality. Is there good art and bad art? Yes, and while I’m going to show you both, always remember that you are endowed with the spirit, will, and agency to judge it for yourself. Let no one else be the arbiter of your tastes. The world is a great big dirty goddamn place, and there’s room enough in it for everyone to have his say and like what he likes.

So that’s what’s up. The Ackrite welcomes you.